The Reason I Got Engaged to My Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 36
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 36
I urgently opened my mouth.
“Lord Lionel, actually there’s someone I met before.”
The reason why we haven’t been able to find any clues to the serial murder case until now.
The eagle emblem, and the murdered noble children. Despite having clear common points, the reason the investigation has been sluggish.
‘That’s because…’
The murderers who killed the noble children are all different people.
Someone was using people from the back alleys who had no blood relatives, with the intention of using them once and discarding them.
And though it’s speculation, the emblem on the back of their hands is probably related to the reason they threw themselves into the river and died.
A method by which the mastermind behind this case could kill them and eliminate traces without moving directly.
…What kind of effect does that emblem have?
“Hmm.”
After hearing my explanation, Lionel showed no reaction for a while.
As if thinking carefully about something, he just crossed his arms, then soon spoke.
“If what that man Young-ae met said is true, it’s a sufficiently reasonable speculation. However… it would be somewhat inappropriate for someone like Young-ae to be deeply involved in this matter, so I’ll tell my senior that I discovered this information alone. Is that alright?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
Even as I answered calmly, my heart was pounding.
“The incident has occurred seven times so far, and we found four bodies in the Rüpel River, so we need to investigate more thoroughly. I know the First Princess is investigating the emblem, so if we set our direction based on Young-ae’s speculation, it should be faster. Thank you so much. …Um, but.”
Suddenly Lionel’s expression turned grim.
“You might not know, but actually the atmosphere in the Imperial Palace has been a bit… like that lately. The First Princess also seems extremely busy with that matter, so relatively this case has been somewhat… yes.”
Unable to dare speak carelessly about the Princess, Lionel hastily shut his mouth.
Sensing that something serious was happening, I immediately pressed him.
“Why? What on earth is going on?”
“Uh… well, I just heard this in passing… Since this doesn’t seem to be officially announced yet, it’s difficult for someone at the bottom like me to talk about it…”
Lionel, who had been mumbling, suddenly brightened his eyes as if he had made up his mind, then poured out his words rapidly.
“Right now it seems a temporary gate leading to the Demon Realm has appeared in the sea. Of course, with the goddess’s protection, it’s not a dangerous situation for the continent, but it seems related to the Westport Line returning after a whole year. With the already poor atmosphere in the capital due to Prince Cael’s passing and the eagle incident, His Majesty seems to be planning to investigate through the Imperial Princes and Princesses first and then give orders to the naval base later. Anyway, our Princess is extremely busy with this matter.”
“…”
I thought it was quite impressive that I properly heard all the words that poured out like a machine gun.
Lionel, who was catching his breath with huffs and puffs, suddenly began to smile awkwardly.
“Oh, oh my.”
What’s with that robotic way of speaking?
“I ended up making a slip of the tongue. Haha, really. Young-ae, I’m so careless like this. Hahahaha…”
I belatedly caught on to his intention and played along with his act.
“It’s fine. I didn’t hear anything. What did you just say, Lord?”
“Aha, is that so? If you didn’t hear it, you don’t need to worry about it, hahahaha.”
Awkward laughter echoed.
‘But to think the investigation will become sluggish again.’
Of course, I understood the Princess’s position.
Realistically thinking, the eagle incident was something that had already happened, while the temporary gate appearing was about future dangers.
‘For now… I have no choice but to wait.’
In Mary Blin’s form, that is.
As Lionel said, it would be dangerous for me to get involved in this case beyond being the ‘victim’s younger sister.’
So I needed to quickly use my fake identity to reach the person in charge, First Princess Anais.
‘And…’
The return of the Westport Line that took a whole year.
“…”
Memories I had kept buried somewhere resurfaced again.
I clenched both hands tightly.
***
That evening, at the Arviente Estate.
Making Ransel’s sturdy repairs meaningless, Pipi had once again become a critical patient.
The cause was an accident where it got sucked into the mouth of a child who didn’t even have teeth yet.
Thinking it would be a matter of moments before she swallowed a button, I exiled Pipi to the 5th floor warehouse of the mansion.
Instead, I gave her a new toy. It was a soft yellow ball slightly larger than Pipi’s fist.
Pipi, who had been languishing with longing for Pipi, quickly transferred her affection to the yellow ball.
…That was exactly the problem.
“Waaaaahhhhh!”
The child’s crying echoed through the room.
Marsha’s chest was soaked with tears and snot as she held and comforted Pipi.
The problem was that I had given her a ball that rolled around so well.
Right now Pipi had been crying for 10 minutes straight because the ball had disappeared.
‘Where on earth did it go?’
While Marsha comforted Pipi, I diligently searched the room.
But no matter how much I looked, the yellow ball was nowhere to be seen.
“…Marsha, it might have been lost outside, so go look for it. Leave Pipi lying here.”
“Ah, yes!”
Marsha, delighted to escape from childcare hell, hurried out.
“Waaah, huuu… waaaaahhhhh!”
Pipi, lying on the bed, began crying heartbreakingly while lifting her waist.
“…What on earth is going on?”
Then, Ransel’s voice came through the door crack.
Ransel was looking at me, fallen into childcare hell, with a somewhat bewildered expression.
I briefly explained the situation to Ransel. …That I was desperately looking for the ball for this reason.
After hearing the explanation, Ransel cooperated in finding the ball.
While comforting Pipi, I watched the demon colonel, whom demons would tremble just hearing his name, diligently search for a baby’s toy.
Somehow I wanted to show this scene to the young ladies who had been putting on all kinds of pretenses while courting this handsome heir of a prestigious family.
“Here it is.”
Then, Ransel pointed under the wooden table.
I had looked there too… it must have been too deep inside for me to see.
Ransel knelt down and put his body against the floor, then reached his hand deep under the table.
“The goddess said to Cheron’s wanderer that if you put your hand in the hole under the zelkova tree, you can obtain truth.”
The yellow ball was in Ransel’s hand as it emerged.
“When I put my hand in, there’s no truth, just our baby’s ball.”
The man who was devout enough to say grace before every meal, though he didn’t look it, placed the ball in Pipi’s hand.
Then Pipi miraculously stopped crying completely.
The sight of her brightening her wet eyes while holding the ball was so cute that my heart felt warm and fuzzy.
“…”
And she fell asleep as if by magic.
‘Then why did you cry asking me to find it?’
Really, when it comes to childcare, there’s no end to learning.
I gently took the ball from her tiny hand, then laid Pipi in the baby bed.
While doing so, I brought up a topic with Ransel.
“I went to the Security Bureau today because of some business.”
I briefly summarized Lionel’s explanation and my thoughts.
Then I asked what had been on my mind.
“Was the return really delayed because of the temporary gate?”
Then Ransel answered nonchalantly.
“The temporary gate is still just speculation.”
“Still, you were busier than usual. But why didn’t you tell me about any of that?”
“Tell you about what?”
“I thought you deliberately didn’t send letters because you didn’t want to talk to me. I told you that.”
“What do you mean…?”
Ransel hesitated, seeming to sense the unusual atmosphere.
I continued speaking calmly.
“But after hearing that explanation from the Security Bureau, I thought maybe you were too busy to even have time for that.”
“…What exactly are you getting at, Mary?”
As Ransel asked, this really wasn’t meant to be such a long conversation.
It started with the temporary gate Lionel told me about, and the return of the Westport Line.
Even knowing that, I kept wanting to open Pandora’s box.
“Why didn’t you explain it even later?”
That Ransel wanted to break up with me.
So he just let pass something that could have been resolved with a single explanation.
Covered by such endless speculation…
“…I really hate this.”
The box that would make clear the voice I once heard from beyond the wall.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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